Click the play button on the video window to the right to see the storyWith a few innocent clicks, Timmy lost all of his Christmas money in a virtual world set in Medieval times.
It's a place where the 11-year-old boy can feel and act much older by fighting enemies and gaining points and power each time he does.
Timmy is high level player in an internet game site called RuneScape. But recently, Timmy learned this virtual world is full of some real life dangers.
While on the site, he says he was approached by another player who seemed impressed with Timmy's armor and sword. The player asked Timmy to come to a private area where they could talk. He asked Timmy to join a special clan, which is something very few people are asked to do. Timmy jumped at the chance.
Timmy says the player then led him to another website and eventually to a site that looked a lot like RuneScape. But it was not.
When Timmy put in his identification and password, he says his information was hacked. He couldn't get back into his account quickly and when he did, all of his points and items he earned and bought were gone.
"It's your items and to have someone steal it without hesitation it's just wrong," Timmy says.
You may be thinking who cares. They are just fake points in a make believe worlds. But it does cost around $60 for higher level players to use RuneScape yearly. Plus there are the hours and hours of time needed to earn clothes and weapons. And there are a number of websites offering coins to use in RuneScape for a fee.
"At Christmas, I told everybody give him cash," Grandmother Claire says.
Timmy received and spent $140 real dollars to buy swords and armor, making him more powerful in the game. Timmy says all of it was taken.
"Gone in one day because this kid took it. It's sad this has to happen because there are so many kids on this site, " Claire says.
The ABC 15 Investigators found websites showing how to stay clear of scams on RuneScape, and a video showing how easy it is to conduct one.
Last year, a Dutch court took virtual crime seriously. They sentenced two teens to community service for stealing imaginary armor on RuneScape Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard has another concern.
"The sinister part of the adults leading 11-year olds to another site is adults leading 11-year olds to personal contact. And they do it on the gaming sites," Goddard says.
Meanwhile, the family says they've gotten no help from RuneScape. They say a thief is getting away with a crime and taunting Timmy about it.
In a statement, RuneScape says "we do everything we can to return accounts and contents to players. We employ over 180 staff in player support to ensure that we... maintain a safe and enjoyable experience for all our players.
Experts warn not to be led off gaming sites to other websites, because that's where most trouble begins.
Runescape responds to ABC15 Investigator concerns
Read Runescape response to ABC15 Investigator Joe Ducey's story:
Dear Joe,
Thanks for sending through the questions, before I answer them I thought it would be helpful to give you some background on the game.
RuneScape is a Massively Multiplayer online role playing game in which players can create a character, complete quests, learn skills and socialise with their friends. The game can be played on almost any computer with an internet connection as it is browser based so players can log on from school, work or at home. The was first developed in 2001 and over the last 8 years Jagex has supported, improved and developed the game which has now been played by over 150 million people around the world. The game currently has around 5 million active players a month and holds the World Record as the largest free to play game.
The bulk of RuneScape can be enjoyed for free and there is a members upgrade which costs $5.95 per month. When players create an account the do not enter any personal details, they simply create a username a confidential password and they can begin. During the account set up and the tutorial players are shown the rules of the game and taught how to keep their account safe. This includes not sharing their password with anyone and only entering their user details of the RuneScape website.
1) How often do you see hacking and accounts contents being stolen?
It is not possible to comment on the number of accounts which are hacked, players are advised not to share their passwords but it does occasionally happen. Whenever a player is hacked or forgets their password they are able to complete a short questionnaire on the RuneScape webpage, providing information about their account, which can then be restored to them.
2) Do you act on all complaints?
All players are welcome to contact us via through in-game communication or though the RuneScape website, we employ over 180 staff in player support, over 50% of our workforce, to ensure that we provide a good service to our players and that we maintain a safe and enjoyable experience for all of our players.
3) How often do you monitor the site/Game?
The game is monitored 24 hours a day 365 days a year by Jagexs player support team, we also recruit thousands of player moderators who provide support within the game.
4) what action do you take against rule breakers?
We have a series of rules which help to keep the game safe, each of these has variable punishments depending on the severity of the offence. Players are not aloud to advertise other sites and it is against our rules to pay for any items and players caught real world trading (paying money to third parties for levelling or in game wealth see http://www.jagex.com/corporate/Parents_Guide/real_world_trading.ws) can be banned from the game.
5) Can players get back what is theirs?
We do everything we can to return accounts and their content back to players, if you have been hacked we recommend you submit an account recovery request on RuneScape.com to get your account back.
To recover an account visit
www.Runescape.com and select Help Account Recovery
6) Can players get more information
There are a number of sources of information and help for players and their parents, the key ones are listed below:
http://www.jagex.com/corporate/Parents_Guide/parents_guide.wsSecurity Tips
http://www.jagex.com/corporate/Parents_Guide/security_tips.wsGeneral support
http://www.runescape.com/kbase/view.ws?guid=Customer_SupportIf you have any further questions please do not hessitate to contact me, we are based in the UK so there is a time delay but I will help in any way I can.
Best Wishes
Adam
